Feb 27 2017

Watercoloring Flowers in Bright Colors!!!

Posted on February 27, 2017 by Laura's Stamp Pad

I just love any and all flowers and even more during this time of year! Spring is near and flowers will start blooming and shining bright! The colors of it all are just stunning! Watercoloring flowers in bright, fun colors is even more fun!!!

~ Card Instructions ~

For this card, I started with a Tip Top Taupe card base measuring 4-1/4″ x 11. You can create this card on it’s side like I did or up and down! It’s all up to you! Also, I went with a neutral base so that I can color the flowers in any color and it would match! I took a piece of Very Vanilla (4″ x 5-1/4″) and stamped the flowers and greeting from the Avant Garden Sale-A-Bration Stamp Set. This is one of the sets you can get for Free with every $50 order which is even better! I stamped the images in Basic Gray Ink which is great for watercoloring and it’s not as bold as black is! Not it is time to color. I used the Watercolor Pencils to color in the flowers. For the card above, I did the watercoloring flowers with Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, and Calypso Coral. I colored the stems and leave in Old Olive. The easiest way to color these is you add color on the lines/dark spots of the flowers and then blend the colors around with a Blender Pen. Pink Lillies, www.LaurasStampPad.com

For this one, I used Melon Mambo and Old Olive! It might not be so obvious in these photos but after I blended the flowers, I went back through with the pencil and colors on the dark centers again to add shadows and texture to them! Once I was finished coloring, I added this to the card base! Finally I finished it off with some Metallic Ribbon which comes in both gold and silver! This is another one of the Sale-A-Bration items that you can pick as your FREE item! Get those items on your wish list and stock up on cardstock and adhesive so you can pick out tons of fabulous Sale-A-Bration items now till the end of March!

You can see more samples using this set and ribbon here and here!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Feb 24 2017

Flowers & Gingham Go Together So Well!!!

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Oh how I am loving this color combination and the flowers and gingham go together so well! I have been having so much fun with the Succulent Garden Suite!!! You can check out more samples here and stay tuned for even more!

~Card Instructions ~

I started with a Sweet Sugarplum card base. Then I took a piece of Mint Macaron (4-1/8″ x 5-3/8″) and adhered a piece of the Succulent Garden Designer Series Paper (2″ x 4″) on the lower portion! There are so many amazing patterns in the pack to pick from! For the top portion, I took a piece of Whisper White (3-1/4″ x 4″) and stamped various flowers from the Oh So Succulent Stamp Set. This stamp set is a 2-step stamping set that is super fun! You can see a Video Tutorial with some tips on stamping with this set here! I did the large flower in Sweet Sugarplum Ink, the medium flower in Calypso Coral Ink and the small flower in Mint Macaron Ink. The greenery was stamped in Old Olive Ink. These colors were picked because they are the ones used in the Succulent Garden Designer Paper! Stampin’ Up! does all of the work for you! 🙂 I adhered the floral piece to the top of the Mint Macaron piece and adhered a piece of Mint Macaron Sheer Linen Ribbon across the place where the 2 pieces overlap! Next, I tacked the ends around to the backside, added more adhesive and stuck it to the front of the card base!! For the mini bow, I used a fork to create it! You can check out a video tutorial on that here! I added the bow to the card front with a Mini Glue Dot! For the greeting, I die cut an oval with the Stitched Shapes Framelits and stamped the greeting from the Oh So Succulent Stamp Set. I added the greeting to the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals!

I love this card and the beautiful colors and flowers! Gingham and flowers just go together so well! You all know how much I love flowers! Purchase the Oh So Succulent Bundle (stamp set and framelits) and Save 10% and the Succulent Garden Designer Paper to create this card and lots of other fabulous ones. You will also get to pick out a FREE Sale-A-Bration item! During Sale-A-Bration, you get to pick out a free item with every $50.00 in product that you order! It is like you are being rewarded for shopping! Love it!!!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Feb 23 2017

List of My Favorite Sale-A-Bration Items!!!

Posted on February 23, 2017 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Sale-A-Bration has been going on for a month and a half now and it has been SO MUCH FUN!!! This week Stampin’ Up! released 3 new items including 2 stamp sets and beautiful glimmer paper! You can check them all out here! I thought today I would go over a list of my favorite Sale-A-Bration items for this year!!! (PS this was not an easy task!)

~ List of My Favorite Sale-A-Bration Items ~

My #1 favorite has to be So Very Much which is the big scroll-y thank you greeting! I just love the beautiful font and I make so many thank you notes so it’s perfect! I love how it is the focal point of the card and you just need a little bit more to make the perfect card! You can check out some samples here and here!

My #2 favorite is Avant Garden! You all know I love flowers and I have really enjoyed this set for the beautiful flowers and greetings too! You can use the one flower with a solid ink and stamp all over or you can stamp the other flowers and color them in. The Watercolor Pencils are perfect for coloring in the flowers! You can check out some samples here! I have a few more so stay tuned!

My #3 favorite item is the Carried Away Designer Series Paper. I love designer paper and while it wasn’t my favorite in the beginning. The more I used it, the more I fell in love. To see some samples, click here and here!

I have the new Glimmer Paper but I haven’t played with it a lot yet. I do think it will be #4 or maybe bump something down! What are your favorite Sale-A-Bration items?? Let me know in the comments below!

Don’t forget that Sale-A-Bration runs till the end of March and there are lots of ways to enjoy the party!!!

~Every $50 you spend, you can pick out a FREE item from the Sale-A-Bration Brochure. Click here to see all of the items you can pick!

~Now is a great time to hostess as well. When your party or order reaches $250, you will earn an additional $25 in Hostess Benefits!! That means you get $50 in Free Product!! You can also use that $50 to join Stampin’ Up!

~There is a fabulous special for joining during Sale-A-Bration too! You can use your hostess benefits towards your kit or you can join without having a party! It is $99 to join and you get to pick out $125 in any product you would like PLUS 2 FREE Stamp Sets of any value! Go for the highest value sets and that’s an additional $104 in product!!! WOOT WOOT! If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out! I’m always happy to chat about it! Click here for more information!

Have fun Sale-A-Brating with me!!!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Feb 22 2017

Love Is In The Air!!!

Posted on February 22, 2017 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Ahhh, the weather has been warm and I’m loving every minute of it! Some say Spring is in the air but I say Love is in the Air!!! Spring is my favorite season. I love the new life of flowers, plants, and animals, that warm sun and cool breeze and all the bright colors!!! I can’t wait!!!

Card Instructions

For this card, I used a Calypso Coral card base. Then I took a piece of Whisper White (4″ x 5-1/4″) and stamped the 3 different clouds all over the background from the Lift Me Up Stamp Set. Marina Mist is the perfect blue for clouds! For the hot air balloon, I used the coordinating Up & Away Thinlits Dies to die cut out the pieces with the Big Shot! You can Bundle & Save 10% when you purchase these 2 together as a bundle. I did the detailed balloon in Calypso Coral. For the strips behind it, I did Marina Mist and Mint Macaron. I am loving this color combination. It is the perfect pastel collection. I used the Fine Tip Glue Pen to adhere the pieces to the back of the detailed balloon piece. You can also use a sponge and lightly pounce some glue from the Multi-Purpose Glue Pen onto the back. I added the hot air balloon to the card front with Stampin’ Dimensionals to give a little texture and 3D look to the balloon!

For the greeting, I added a piece of Marina Mist measuring 1/2″ x 4″ along the bottom. I stamped the greeting from the Lift Me Up Stamp Set onto a scrap piece of Whisper White. Using the Classic Label Punch, I punched it out and then added it to the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals. I used some of the skinny edge pieces. I just trimmed it to the correct length and it was perfect! To finish off the card, I added a few Enamel Shapes!! It is just perfect!!!

You can purchase the Lift Me Up Bundle in Clear and add on some Enamel Shapes or pack of Cardstock to get to the $50 order! Then you can pick out a FREE Sale-A-Bration item!!! If you purchase the Lift Me Up Bundle in Wood, you already have earned a Free Sale-A-Bration item!!! Now is the perfect time to get those favorites on your Wish List or stock up on items because every $50 order, earns you a Free Sale-A-Bration Item! Who doesn’t love FREE STUFF!?!?!? Click here to start shopping!!

If you would like to see more samples like this Love Is In The Air Card using the Lift Me Up Bundle, click here and here!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Feb 21 2017

Technique Tuesday – Creating a Ruffle Dress!!!

Posted on February 21, 2017 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Happy Tuesday!!! You all know what that means! I have a fabulous technique to share with you today using the Watercolor Pencils. We will be creating a Ruffle Dress!!! Check out this beauty!!

Creating a Ruffle Dress, www.LaurasStampPad.com

I love this dress because it is PINK (of course) but it is also so big and beautiful! I went to my Junior year Prom in a huge baby blue Cinderella ball gown and it was amazing! Now I can create that amazing dress on the beautiful women in the Beautiful You Stamp Set! Love it!!! Thank you to Tandra Boyer for this amazing idea!!!

SUPPLIES NEEDED: Beautiful You Stamp Set, Basic Black Archival Ink, Watercolor Pencils, Aqua Painter

I started with a piece of Whisper White cardstock measuring 3-3/4″ x 5″. Next, I inked up the top portion of the lady from the Beautiful You Stamp Set with Basic Black Archival Ink. I used this ink because it won’t bleed when you watercolor. If you aren’t comfortable inking up just the top half of the stamp, you can always ink it all up and then mask over the bottom half with a piece of scrap paper!

After stamping her, I took the Melon Mambo Watercolor Pencil and make swirly lines starting at her waist and going down. Just keep adding squiggly lines until it looks full. I added a little bit of color along the lines of her shirt as well. Then I took the Aqua Painter and traced over the top of the swirly lines, allowing the color to bleed. Just keep swirling along each of those lines and color in the top as well. If it seems to get rather wet, you can always stop and allow it to dry a bit and then come back in with some some more color to accent or create shadows. You can make the skirt as full or straight as you wish! Just have fun with it!!

I created this ruffle dress with the Rich Razzleberry Watercolor Pencil! It is just so beautiful!

To finish off the card, I used a Melon Mambo card base and a strip of Gold Foil Paper along the left side (1-1/2″ x 5-1/2″). I stamped the greeting from the Beautiful You Stamp Set in Basic Black in the upper right corner and then added this piece to the card front with Stampin’ Dimensionals. I liked the added texture of the dimensionals and it hold the paper on real well since it can curl a bit after the watercoloring. To finish it off, I added a few Gold Metallic Enamel Shapes! I just love it!!! I might do the purple one with silver! 🙂

If you would like to see this all in action, check out the Video Tutorial below or click here! Be sure to give the video a thumbs up if you liked it and don’t forget to subscribe if you are new! I post every Tuesday and Thursday!!!

If you would like to see more samples using the Watercolor Pencils, click here and here! Have fun playing with the Watercolor Pencils!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Feb 20 2017

Succulent Gardens!!!

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Succulent Gardens are all the rage right now and I am on that same train!!! Woot Woot!!! You all know I love flowers as it is but succulents are these cute little things that are just so precious! My Mom got me one for Christmas and so far it is still alive and cute as ever! Here’s hoping I can continue to keep it alive! 🙂

Now let’s get started on this beautiful card! You may have noticed that you can’t see the Old Olive on the front panel! I created this card in a fun way! I started with an Old Olive base measuring 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″. Then I took a piece of Sweet Sugarplum measuring 4″ x 10-1/2″ and folded it in half like a card. I adhered this to the middle of the Old Olive base. This gives a fabulous little backing but a fun card base. You could always do this with a black base but a white card that you can write inside! You could do this with any card!

Now to decorate it, I used the Succulent Garden Designer Series Paper. I put a strip along the left side measuring 1-3/4″ x 5-1/4″. Then I layered another piece measuring 2-1/2″ x 3″. For the main point, I took a piece of Tip Top Taupe measuring 3-3/4″ x 2-1/4 and layered on a piece of Whisper White measuring 3-1/2″ x 2″. Before adhering it to the taupe, be sure to stamp the greeting from the Oh So Succulent Stamp Set in Tip Top Taupe Ink. It’s always best to stamp before assembling so you can flip it over if you make a mistake. I love that there are 2 sides to every piece of cardstock! 🙂

Next, I tied some of the Succulent Garden Ribbon Combo Pack around the cardstock. This ribbon is like soft and fuzzy. It’s a fun texture! For the flowers, I stamped them from the Oh So Succulent Stamp Set and die cut them out with the coordinating Succulent Framelits. You can bundle and save 10% when you purchase these two products together – click here to get the bundle! I did the large flower in Sweet Sugarplum and the small flower in Mint Macaron. The greenery pieces were done in Old Olive. I added the greenery flat to the cardstock and popped up the flowers with Stampin’ Dimensionals. Love it!!!

It was super easy to create this card and pick the colors because I just used the ones listed in the designer paper! The entire Succulent Suite is beautiful and goes together so well! You can see another sample here! When you purchase the bundle and save 10% as well as the coordinating Succulent Gardens Designer Paper, you can pick out a FREE Sale-A-Bration item!! Saving 10% and getting a free item is super fabulous! I love Sale-A-Bration time!!! Stock up on your favorite goodies before it ends on March 31st!!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Feb 17 2017

Coloring With a Chalk Marker!!!

Posted on February 17, 2017 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Rustic Birthday Chalk Marker, www.LaurasStampPad.com

Happy Friday!!! Today we are going to be coloring with the White Chalk Marker! These markers are fun to use on black cardstock for that chalkboard look but you can use them for other projects like this one too!!! I love getting out tools and using them for more projects than the typical use! So get out that Chalk Marker and let’s play!!!

For this card, I used a Crumb Cake card base! Then I took a piece of Cucumber Crush (5-1/4″ x 4″) and ripped the top and bottom. You just want to do little tears all along, rather than one long rip! Then I took another piece of Crumb Cake (5″ x 2-1/2″) and ripped the top and bottom of this piece as well. I stamped the Happy greeting from the Happy Celebrations Stampin’ Up Stamp Set in Crumb Cake Ink. After stamping the greeting, I used the White Chalk Marker and drew lines down each of the letters. I’m not the best at drawing and free-hand stuff so a simple line was enough for me but you could always decorate with dots, squiggles, or another design!

Now it is time to assemble! I adhered this piece to the Cucumber Crush piece and then stamped the “Birthday to You” in Cucumber Crush Ink in the lower right corner! Then I added this piece to the card front! To finish it off, I wrapped some Linen Thread around the top and tied it into a knot. Linen Thread is the perfect embellishment for a man card!!! Simple and fabulous!!!

You could always mix up the colors to match the recipients favorite color or based on the gender! If you would like to check out other samples using the Happy Celebrations Stamp Set by clicking here and here! If you would like to see more ways to color with the Chalk Marker, click here and here!

Don’t forget that Sale-A-Bration is still going on till the end of March! You can pick out a FREE item for every $50.00 that you order! You will also be earning Laura’s Loyal Stampers Stickers and after 10 stickers you will get a $40 Gift Certificate! Now is the perfect time to stock up on all the stamping goodies!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I’ll see you back here on Monday!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Feb 16 2017

2-Step Stamped Succulent Flowers!!!

Posted on February 16, 2017 by Laura's Stamp Pad

I am in love with these 2-Step Stamped Succulent Flowers from the Oh So Succulent Stamp Set in the Occasions Mini Catalog! I know that some of you aren’t a big fan of 2-step stamping because it can be hard to line up the stamp sets but I have a few tips for you! You can also create the card without both stamped images. You can do just the flower base, just the outline, or both! It is all up to you and your personal preference!!!

As you can see in this sample, I didn’t do the 2-step stamping. I just did the solid background flower stamp in the full strength! Both of the cards look fabulous but the one up top has a lot more definition and texture with each flower!

I started with a Tip Top Taupe card base! Then I took a piece of Whisper White measuring 4″ x 5-1/4″. Using the Thank You from the So Very Much Sale-A-Bration Stamp Set, I stamped it in Tip Top Taupe Ink. I love this set for that big scroll-y font! It is just beautiful and you only need a little bit of decoration to create an amazing card! You can see another fabulous sample using this set here! Next I stamped the flowers from the So Succulent Stamp Set. I started with the biggest flower first and then filled in. I did the big flower in Sweet Sugarplum. Then the smaller flower in Calypso Coral and the greenery in Mint Macaron.

For the card at the top, I stamped outline first in full strength ink and then I stamped the solid inside of the flower after stamping off once. This gives that lighter shade and two tone look. I have found that it is easier to stamp the outline first since it is nice and dark. You can see that through the solid image. Also, since the solid image is stamped off once, it is lighter and easier to see through and line up with the outline image. Another way to get the images lined up perfectly is to use a Stamp-A-Ma-Jig! Once I had all of the flowers stamped, I adhered that piece to the card base and then you are all done!!!

I hope these tips help you when you are 2-Step Stamping with the Oh So Succulent Flowers! If you would like to see this all in action, check out the Video Tutorial below or click here! Be sure to give this video a thumbs up if you liked it and don’t forget to subscribe if you are new! I post every Tuesday and Thursday! Also, stay tuned for all of the other samples shown in the video!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Feb 15 2017

Carried Away!!!

Posted on February 15, 2017 by Laura's Stamp Pad

I am soooo in love with this style of card. I have used it with some many different styles of Designer Paper and they are all so amazing! It is a quick and simple style but yet beautiful! I just love it!!

I started with a piece of Whisper White measuring 4-1/4″ x 11″ for the card base! Then I took a piece of Night of Navy (4″ x 4″) and layered on a piece of the Carried Away Sale-A-Bration Designer Series Paper (3-3/4″ x 3-3/4″). I added this piece to the card front towards the top. For the greeting, I stamped it from the Lift Me Up Stamp Set in Night of Navy Ink. I added some Mint Macaron Sheer Linen Ribbon around the card and tied it into a knot! Simple and fabulous!!!

This one I did with Real Red cardstock layering the Carried Away Designer Paper. I used some of the Gold Metallic Ribbon which is another fabulous Sale-A-Bration item you can pick for Free with every $50 order! I also added a little red star from the Brights Enamel Shapes.

There are so many different ways you can create this card with different Designer Paper, different ribbons, adding some bling and changing up the greeting!

You can purchase the Lift Me Up Bundle, which includes the Lift Me Up Stamp Set and coordinating Up & Away Thinlits, and the Mint Macaron Sheer Linen Ribbon and then get the Carried Away Designer Series Paper for FREE!!! Sale-A-Bration is such a fun time of the year. You get to pick out a free item with every $50.00 in product that you order! It is like you are being rewarded for shopping! Love it!!!

What is your favorite Designer Paper that you can wait to use to create cards like these? Let me know in the comments below! I have another sample to share later using the Falling in Love Designer Paper. Stay tuned!!!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Feb 14 2017

Technique Tuesday – Poppin’ Pink!!!

Posted on February 14, 2017 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Celebrations Duo Embossing Folder, www.LaurasStampPad.com

Happy Tuesday and Happy Valentine’s Day!!! Today I’m going to share a fabulous technique in my favorite color! After all I LOVE Pink and today is all about love, right??

How amazing is this card?!?!?! All that Pink! That amazing background! I am in love although I probably won’t be making a ton of cards exactly like this…..that background was crazy! It’s always cool and fun to do something at least once though!!! Let’s get started!

SUPPLIES NEEDED: Celebrations Duo Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Happy Celebrations Stamp Set, Stampin’ Pierce Mat

I started with a Basic Black card base. Then I took a piece of Whisper White (4″ x 5-1/4″) and stamped the “Birthday To You” from the Happy Celebrations Stamp Set all over in Melon Mambo Ink. I just love black and white with a pop of pink! To get those various shades of pink on the greeting, I stamped a few times before going back to the ink. I would ink it up and then stamp in a random place, then move down and over and stamp again. Repeat this once more. Then I would go back to the ink and stamp the same but in reverse so that the darkest was now next to the lightest. Just keep filling in until it is all covered. Don’t worry about your spacing or being straight. It is made with love, not perfection and a lot of it is covered up so you can’t see the entire piece!

Once I was finished with this piece, I adhered it to the card front! Now for the Happy greeting!!! I took a piece of Whisper White (4-1/2″ x 2-1/4″) and ran it through the Big Shot in the Celebrations Duo Embossing Folder. This will give you that fabulous de-bossed Happy image. Now it’s time to add some color! I found that stamping with the piece on the Stampin’ Pierce Mat works best because then there is some give for the debossed image and you aren’t smashing it all. It gives a nice stamped image as well. Place the debossed image on the Stampin’ Pierce Mat and using the image from the Happy Celebrations Stamp Set, stamp over each letter with Melon Mambo Ink! When you stamp, you can see the ink touch the paper. Sometimes you will need to press a little more in certain spots to make sure the stamp touches the paper.

There other super cool thing is how you can create 2 projects from this technique. Once you stamp on the de-bossed image, you will notice the letter in your stamp because the ink is still there where the letter is de-bossed. You can then stamp that onto another piece of paper to get the cool look of the Happy in the photo above (bottom greeting). How cool is that??

Once I finished the de-bossed image, I layered it onto Basic Black measuring 2-3/4″ x 4-3/4″ with Stampin’ Dimensionals. I like using Dimensional when working with embossed images so it lays flat and adheres well…..and because I love them so much! Then I added this to my card front and finished it off with a few Rhinestones. Got to have some bling! I added a piece of Whisper White (4″ x 5-1/4″) to the inside of the card as well since it is hard to write on black cardstock! Love it!!!

If you would like to see this all in action, check out the Video Tutorial below or click here! Be sure to give it a thumbs up if you liked it and don’t forget to subscribe if you are new! I post a video every Tuesday and Thursday! You can also check out another sample I created with these folders here!

What color would you use to create this card?? Let me know in the comments below! I’m thinking I need to try Bermuda Bay or Cucumber Crush for a boy card!!!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura